I am proud to say that every one of my five manuscripts has either finaled in or won a contest. In fact, my manuscripts have racked up 14 final finishes, including a prestigious RWA Golden Heart honor.

Why enter contests?
My number one reason was to get unbiased, helpful feedback from judges. The comments I’ve received have been invaluable--and often the most helpful comments have come from judges who gave me the lowest scores. While a writer needs to be careful about making wholesale changes in a manuscript based on one person’s comments, a writer who fails to listen to the same suggestions from more than one person does so at her own peril. Comments from contest judges have helped me fine tune my voice, improve pacing and dialogue, strike a happy balance between suspense and romance, and understand the expectations of readers who love romantic suspense. So, a BIG THANK YOU to all the RWA contest coordinators and to every writer who has taken the time to judge a contest and provide constructive criticism!

Due to my participation in these contests, I’ve made many changes in my manuscripts over time. The changes have ranged from new titles to plot shifts that have moved manuscripts from mainstream to the romantic suspense category. To return the favor and pay it forward, I try to judge several unpublished contest each eyar.